A groundbreaking study from Tel Aviv University has unveiled a large mechanical system that operates under dynamic rules similar to those found in quantum systems. The dynamics of quantum systems, which are composed of microscopic particles such as atoms or electrons, are notoriously challenging, if not impossible, to observe directly.
The research is a collaboration between Dr. Izhar Neder of the Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Chaviva Sirote-Katz of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Meital Geva and Prof. Yair Shokef of the School of Mechanical Engineering, and Prof. Yoav Lahini and Prof. Roni Ilan of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University. The study was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Quantum mechanics governs the microscopic world of electrons, atoms, and molecules. An electron, a particle that moves in an atom or in a solid, may have properties that give rise to wave-like phenomena. For example, it may demonstrate a probability of dispersing in space similar to waves spreading out in a pool after a stone is thrown in, or the capability to exist simultaneously in more than one place.
These wave-like properties lead to a unique phenomenon that appears in some solid isolators. Even though there is no electric current through them, and the electrons do not move due to an external electric voltage, the internal arrangement of the material shows up in a state referred to as “topological.”
This means that the wave of electrons possesses a quantity that can “close on itself” in different ways, somewhat like the difference between a cylinder and a Möbius strip. This “topological” state of the electrons, for which the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded, is considered a new state of matter and attracts much current research.
2024-03-07 20:00:04
Original from phys.org